Angel's Dust

The world was bathed in blinding white. Hazel’s head throbbed, but she couldn’t move a muscle.

Am I…dead?

Slowly, the blinding white faded into pale blue as the sky came into view. Along with it came the return of feeling in her limbs. She wiggled her fingers, feeling her nails scrape against dirt and debris. Clearly, she was no longer in a bar anymore. The last thing she remembered was ordering her bartender friend’s glittery gold cocktail and downing it in one shot. He’d said it was his most popular daily special and called it Angel’s Dust.

I really should’ve just gotten my usual martini, Hazel thought, watching a cloud lazily drift across the sky.

Suddenly, a girl’s face appeared above her, grinning widely.

“Hello!” she said, enthusiastically.

“Woah!” Startled, Hazel jerked upright—only to bash her forehead against the stranger’s nose. Both of them collapsed backward, groaning and clutching their wounded faces.

“Ow, ow, owwww… what was that for?”

Hazel rolled her head to the side, trying to get a better look at the stranger: long blonde hair curling around her waist, a white sleeveless dress cinched with a golden belt, bright blue eyes that mirrored the sky, and fluttering white wings on her back.

Wait… wings?

She rubbed her eyes, wondering if the bump on her head had caused her to hallucinate; or perhaps, that cursed cocktail she drank had been spiked with something way stronger than tequila. Nope. Still there.

Sitting up slowly, she watched, mesmerized, as the girl—angel?—touched her nose and emitted a soft, bright light from her hands. Her once-reddened skin turned fair as the glow dimmed. Hazel found it both fascinating and mildly disturbing.

Although part of her wanted to ask a hundred questions about the magic and how it worked, another part was still panicking. Am I really dead? Otherwise, how could I possibly be seeing an angel right now?

The angel turned towards Hazel with a pout. “Well, I’ll forgive you since you must be confused. I’ll even give you a heal—free of charge!”

She reached out with a ringed hand and channeled the same bright light onto Hazel’s forehead. It felt warm and soothing, like basking in the morning sun, and soon, Hazel’s headache completely melted away.

“Thank you… um…”

“Hehe!” With a flap of her wings, the girl took flight, hovering a few feet above Hazel’s head. She paused midair, clearing her throat as her beating wings kept her afloat.

“The name’s Sofiel! You can call me Sofi for short. I’ve been assigned by the great goddess Helena to guide you on your mission to save our world from impending doom!” Sofi gestured dramatically as she spoke, the jeweled bangles adorning her arms clinking against one another.

“There are a lot of things you need to do. Like, getting geared up, collecting the artifacts, learning to use your powers, meeting His Majesty, Emperor Leandro—oh! And you have to try fried burbuck and swinauk steak! My sister, Firiel, said it was soooo good she nearly ascended back to Sein, haha!” She paused, then gasped. “Oh my Goddess, I almost forgot the most important task: getting one of Arianne’s latest designs and wearing it to the ball! Who’s Arianne, you ask? Why, only the greatest fashion icon of all time!”

As Sofi launched into a passionate rant about embroidered necklines and handwoven lace, Hazel tuned her out.

From the short bit of information I caught, I can safely assume I’m not on Earth anymore. Either that stupid cocktail actually killed me or this is a situation similar to one of those transmigration novels my cousin always reads. She also said something about saving the world. What does that even mean? I’m just an office worker. How am I supposed to help anyone?

She had a million questions in queue, but she figured getting a sense of her surroundings was a good place to start.

Instead of the bustling, dimly lit bar where she was last sitting, she had somehow woken up in the ruins of an old, half-collapsed building. The cracked walls and pillars were marked by strange symbols and intricate designs, some parts worn down heavily by time. She couldn’t make out what any of it meant, only that it didn’t seem to be a language found on Earth.

Broken pieces of wood and limestone piled up in the corners of the building, and as she looked up, she realized a part of the roof was missing. What may have once been a magnificent dome was now a lofty skylight framed by ivy and treetops.

Beyond the entrance, she could see an overgrown path leading into a forest, and at the far end of the room, a moss-covered statue stood: a woman holding fire in one hand and a sword in the other. She was cloaked in vines, clearly forgotten for a long time.

Although she was curious to see what the outside world looked like, Hazel felt a strange pull towards the statue and rose to her feet.

Noticing movement, Sofi paused mid-description of where Arianne sources her fabrics and floated after her.

“That’s Lady Luxeria,” she said softly, brushing off a few baby vines that had crept onto the statue’s face. “She’s Lady Helena’s older sister–goddess of purification and prophecy. And just so you know, Lady Helena handles healing and protection. Currently, Lady Luxeria is too weak to handle mortal affairs, so Lady Helena has been taking care of her. It’s those ugly demons—they did this to her. Hmph!”

Sofi puffed her cheeks in anger and punched the air, kicking up a cloud of dust as her wings flapped behind her.

“I swear, if I see a demon, I’ll send them flying straight into Lord Acheron’s domain! Mwa-ha-ha! Let’s see them escape his eternal river!” she cackled, punching and kicking more invisible demons.

Hazel chuckled at the silly display. How ironic for an angel to act like a cartoon villain. Honestly, with how cute Sofi was, any demon would probably run the other way.

“So, you said Luxeria is a goddess right? Aren’t deities supposed to be all-powerful? How did she become so weak?”

Sofi’s face turned serious and replied, “The gods are not omnipotent, nor are they immortal. Well, they sort of are, but their life force is tied to their divine power. Once it runs out, poof! They disappear. Just like how humans die when they run out of mana. But that’s a topic for another day. As for how she became like this…”

She hesitated, wondering where to start explaining the events. “Well, why don’t we get out of here first, and I’ll explain to you on the way!”

Sofi grabbed Hazel’s hand and led her out into the forest.

“Wow…” Hazel breathed.

Growing up in the city and spending most of her life studying rather than going out to play meant that she rarely had the chance to experience nature beyond neatly trimmed parks and her aunt’s small, backyard vegetable garden. The closest she’d gotten was a trip to the San Diego Zoo with her parents when she was 8. However, seeing captured animals in an enclosed exhibit could hardly compare to this.

Towering trees scraped the sky as rays of sunlight spilled through the canopy and danced on the undergrowth. Ahead, a trodden path wove in between tree trunks, bordered by knobby roots and clusters of wildflowers still sparkling with morning dew. The low hum of insects resounded in the early summer breeze while birds chirped and chattered intermittently. A pair of squirrels chased each other up a nearby tree, disappearing into the branches above. Just past it, a snow-white rabbit dove into some berry bushes with a rustle.

Hazel took a deep breath, absorbing as much of the fresh, earthy scent as possible to erase any lingering traces of Los Angeles smoke left in her lungs. A giddy warmth bubbled inside her–like a kid left alone in a candy shop.

For someone who typically passed her days crunching numbers and churning out essays, this moment felt surreal. She felt like she was embarking on an exciting new adventure.

Behind her, the church ruins stood out like a sore thumb, dirty white in a sea of greens and browns, despite being slowly reclaimed by Mother Nature. It was absurd to think that someone once thought it was fitting to build a church smack dab in the middle of a forest.

Who in their right mind would hike through the woods every Sunday to pray anyway? Feeling the curiosity claw its way up her throat, she decided to voice her thoughts. “Why is there a church out here? And what happened to it?”

“Hm?” Sofi glanced back. “Oh, who knows? Humans build churches everywhere, don’t they? It’s only natural to want to worship esteemed goddesses like Lady Luxeria and Lady Helena!”

Sofi gently landed on the ground as she announced, “I’m going to walk. These trees are annoying to fly through.”

She continued down the dirt path, pulling Hazel along.

“As for why it’s derelict, I believe it was due to the Luxerian extermination that happened after the third demon war… but let me start from the beginning.

“Long, long ago, the world was plunged into darkness when Mother Yrris fell from the sky. Her tears turned into stars, her heart the moon, and her body a seed that took root on a tiny island at the center of a mana-filled lake.

“Monsters rose from the shadows and roamed the lands, devouring everything in their path. Rahhh!” Sofi leaned in close, thrusting fingers curled like claws into Hazel’s face, then giggling when she flinched backward from the sight. Satisfied with her little prank, she resumed her story.

“Threatened by the waves of monsters, the human race built walled cities and trained knights and mages to keep them at bay. That period was called the Dark Age—I know, super uninspired name, right? If it were up to me, I’d call it something like ‘the Gloom and Doom Age’ or maybe ‘the Era of Terror’! Now that has a nice ring to it.

“Ahem, but that’s not the point! After several millennia of absorbing mana, the seed grew into a majestic, colossal tree that kissed the clouds. It became known as the Great Celestial Evertree. From it, Lady Luxeria and Lady Helena were born, thus bringing forth the Light Age. Haahhh, again, boring name.

“Together, they shed light upon the lands, allowing plants to grow and life to thrive. Embracing the newfound sun, the human race began to worship the twin goddesses. The Luxerians served Lady Luxeria, who appointed twelve saints and saintesses every hundred years to wield purification and prophecy. On the other hand, the Helenians served Lady Helena, who granted healing and protection to all inducted priests and paladins. Both factions coexisted peacefully, each fulfilling their duties to assist mankind on behalf of their goddesses.

“That was until tensions between humans and demons arose,” Sofi sighed. “They weren’t always on bad terms with each other. On the contrary, I heard Demon King Cassilon was quite pleasant and even traded with humans. However, his long reign of peace ended when his son, Typhegor, killed him, took his place, and closed all routes into the Varuda Mountains. Next thing we knew, he launched an attack on the human race.”

Sofi tapped her chin. “Well, not really, hehe. Just the Laekyr continent, since they can’t cross the ocean. That was the start of the first demon war. At that time, Lady Luxeria’s saints became vital to the war efforts, since purification is super effective against demons. They led the charge and pushed the demons back into the Varuda Mountains. It was a landslide victory for the human race, as well as Lady Luxeria and Lady Helena!

“Unfortunately, the peace was short-lived. Luxerians began claiming superiority to the Helenians due to their high contributions to the war. Obviously, it’s not like Helenians did nothing to help either. Priests healed the wounded, while paladins raised barriers and protected civilians on the sidelines. Everyone played their part in the war, but their dispute caused a rift between the two factions. It’s just so unfair! Hmph!”

Pouting, Sofi kicked a rock along the path, watching it bounce away into a bush.

Hazel listened quietly to Sofi’s animated narration, mentally cataloging each faction’s traits in case she ran into them later.

She furrowed her brows. “So the Luxerians became dominant? And the Helenians were… just tolerated? Is that why that church back there was in shambles? Because the Helenians destroyed it as revenge?”

It’s rather childish to destroy another religion’s place of worship, though. It can’t simply be that they felt inferior. There must be more to this.

Sofi shook her head, replying, “We’ll get to that part in a moment. Following the first war, Typhegor attacked again. Then again. Three demon wars in total, each about two hundred years apart. Each time, the human race emerged victorious, and of course, Luxerians stood at the forefront and blasted down demons with purification. In the eyes of civilians, this fact cemented their position as the superior faith.”

“Hold on. You said there were only twelve saints and saintesses. How did they defeat all of those demons alone with just purification?”

“Actually, they can also bless weapons and items with purification power, so they supplied the knights prior to the war. It’s not permanent, so you’d have to recharge it by getting another blessing, but this helped regular knights cut down demons more efficiently. In any case, the Luxierans took the spotlight, while Helenians were only called upon when people needed healing or charms. Oh, my poor Lady Helena! Humans are blind, I swear! Oh, I don’t mean you, of course. But seeing the injustice toward my goddess makes my blood boil!”

“So, how many demon wars have there been so far?” Hazel prompted, hoping to get the story back on track.

“Oh right, there were three in total. The third one, however, was where it all started to fall apart.” Her expression turned somber. “Lady Luxeria shares a hefty amount of divine power with all of her chosen saints before and during the war, you see. Especially since they had to bless a ton of weapons. It wouldn’t have been a major problem if it had been just one war, but divine power centuries to replenish. It takes about five hundred years to recover what she’d spent one war, so by the time the third war came and went, She was nearly exhausted of all her power.”

“Why bother?” As Sofi’s thin eyebrows shot up, Hazel quickly corrected herself, “Sorry if this sounds heartless, but there’s no benefit for her to help the human race. Why would she go so far at the cost of her own life?”

Sofi blinked, caught off guard. “Huh… I never thought about that. Well personally, I would be really sad if humans were wiped out. No more delicious food or jewelry…or Arianne’s beautiful dresses!” Sofi cringed. “Oh no, no, noooo. We can’t have that. Besides, the only other intelligent species in this world is the demon race, and they’re rather rude to us angels. As for Lady Luxeria and Lady Helena…mmm, I can’t say for sure. But, I do think they, too, love humans for whatever reason. After all, you guys are so fragile and your lives are so short!”

Hazel nodded slowly. It was unsettling to hear such a detached and shallow answer. To ‘immortal’ beings like Sofi, humans must be fleeting entertainment.

If Arianne died, Sofi would probably grieve for a few years before finding another designer to idolize. And Hazel–someone she’d only just met? She’d probably forget her within a month. Hazel shook the thought from her mind and refocused.

“When Lady Luxeria retreated to recover, she stopped supplying the saints with divine power. At first, people assumed she was angry, that she’d forsaken them. Her saints prayed day and night for her return, but she had already fallen into a deep slumber. She could not answer them. Thus, as time went on with no answer, people turned against her. They burned her churches, executed her saints, and branded Luxerians as traitors. Eventually, most of them converted to Helenian faith…”

Sofi trailed off, falling into a solemn silence as she continued marching down the trail. She kept her grasp on Hazel’s hand, lightly swinging them together as they walked. This allowed Hazel some time to reflect on the story so far.

So basically, the Luxerians ran their goddess dry, turned their backs when she had nothing left to give them, and replaced her with the goddess they’d been discriminating for the past several hundred years. What a bunch of spoiled lowlives, she mused.

“Exactly! How dare they do this to Lady Luxeria after all she did for them!” Sofi huffed.

Hazel blinked. Wait, did I accidentally say that last part out loud?

“But ultimately, she chose to help humans, even knowing the risks, so I suppose it’s not entirely their fault. If anyone’s really to blame, it’s those blasted demons who keep declaring war on us. I just hope Lady Luxeria regains her strength soon.”

Then, suddenly, Sofi’s expression brightened.

“Oh! We’re here!”

She tugged Hazel forward, leading her out of the forest onto an overlook. “Hehe! Welcome to the Osten Empire!” she declared.

Once again, Hazel’s breath was taken away by the idyllic landscape that lay before her. Below them lay a carpet of verdant meadows and rolling hills, speckled by cream and lemon-colored flowers. A gentle breeze rippled through the undulating grass shaking up a puff of dandelion seeds floating delicately across the fields. Snaking through the waves of green was a continuation of the path they’d been traversing on, only it was wider and more horse-trodden with distinct tracks made by traveling carts. In fact, there was one not too far from where they stood, carrying hay and pulling a few brown and spotted cattle alongside it.

In the far-off distance, she could see a large sparkling lake skirted by swaying willow trees, and on the other side stood a massive, elevated city. High bluish-grey walls spanned a large section of the horizon, with regal spires peeking out from the top. It reminded Hazel of the abandoned church–majestic in form, but still an eyesore against nature’s canvas.

That must be our destination.

Sofi clapped her hands, pulling Hazel out of her reverie. “There’s still plenty of light left in the day. Let’s head down now, shall we?”

Sofi’s Corner

Dearest Lady Helena,

It’s me, Sofi, here to give you my daily report! I’ve been talking and walking alllllll day. I’m so exhausted, I’m ready to snuggle up with a nice, fluffy sheep for a nap. I didn’t realize being a guide was this hard… but at least this human’s really nice! What was her name again? Oh, no! I didn’t even ask! I’m a terrible guide… Well, this just means I need to get to know her better. I’ll ask her tomorrow! See you, then~